was loved. I
knew I was.
When I got out of the hospital, my first stop was
at Will’s office.
Chapter 7
The phone rang. Wilhelm started. He had been intently
reading through a report about the state of energy supplies in Newhaven, a
document so dry that unless he made a deliberate effort to remain focused, his
attention drifted every few lines. He glanced at the identification display. It
was the hospital. He picked up the receiver before the second ring had ended,
fumbling a little in his haste. He had been expecting this call for the past
couple of days. He was somewhat surprised Ariadne had remained in the hospital
this long, she had to be bored out of her mind by now.
“Wilhelm.”
“It’s Laurie, Will.”
Wilhelm’s anticipation dropped back at once but he
tried to put as much warmth in his voice as possible out of respect for one of
the strongest women he’d ever known. As Bergsen’s wife, she had needed that
strength daily for the past twenty-five years.
“How is he?”
“Better.” Relief echoed in that simple word, but it
didn’t completely mask the underlying tension. “He woke up this morning. He was
disorientated for a while, but I just talked to him and he’s lucid. He wanted
to talk to you, but the doctor vetoed it, said he needs more rest.”
For a brief moment, Wilhelm closed his eyes. In times
like this, he sometimes wished he had had a God to pray to, and to thank.
“I’ll come by later, if that’s okay.”
“As long as it’s not to throw him back into work.”
“Just to say hello, I promise.”
They said their goodbyes. Wilhelm was smiling when he
hung up the phone. Forty-nine hours earlier, Bergsen had suffered a heart
attack. His wife, his doctor, two nurses and Wilhelm were the only ones who
knew. If he recovered completely, there was no reason to tell the public and
start a panic in the city. If he didn’t… there would be time to think about it
then.
On the desk in front of him, the energy report still
waited, but Wilhelm ignored it a little longer. Since he was going to visit the
hospital, maybe he would stop by Ariadne’s room. He had last seen her when she
had come out of surgery, and since then whenever she came to his mind, it
wasn’t as a young woman full of life, nor as a skilled fighter. Instead, it was
a pale face he saw, closed eyes circled by pain and forced sleep, and a
too-still body on the bleached white sheets of the hospital bed.
If he went to see her, however, the reasonable part of
his mind pointed out, it might attract the attention of too many people, and
the last thing Wilhelm wanted was to cause gossip.
With a frustrated sigh, he returned his eyes to the
papers he ought to be reading. Unlike Bergsen, Wilhelm wasn’t good with these
things. He knew fighting, training, strategy. He could see trends in the
numbers of wounded or dead and could organize fighters, but taking care of
civilians was a whole different matter. And so were women.
There was a sharp knock, and before he could answer,
the door opened. Ariadne entered and closed the door again behind her. Wilhelm
sat up, blinking in surprise, and watched her. Her strides were steady when she
approached the chair in front of his desk, but he noticed a flash of pain as
she sat down. It had been three weeks since she had been hurt, and she was
wearing her Guard uniform, but there was no way she was fit to return to combat
yet.
“Shouldn’t you be in bed, still?” he asked, foregoing
civilities since she was doing the same.
She was sitting very straight, almost too much so. Her
eyes seemed calm. If he knew her at all, it wouldn’t last. She was fire and
quicksilver; anything else she might show was a mask.
“The doctor said I was fine. Didn’t you get the call
yet?”
Just as she finished talking, the phone rang again. As
before, the display identified the hospital, and Wilhelm picked it up. On the
other end of the line, a nurse informed him that Ariadne would be
knew I was.
When I got out of the hospital, my first stop was
at Will’s office.
Chapter 7
The phone rang. Wilhelm started. He had been intently
reading through a report about the state of energy supplies in Newhaven, a
document so dry that unless he made a deliberate effort to remain focused, his
attention drifted every few lines. He glanced at the identification display. It
was the hospital. He picked up the receiver before the second ring had ended,
fumbling a little in his haste. He had been expecting this call for the past
couple of days. He was somewhat surprised Ariadne had remained in the hospital
this long, she had to be bored out of her mind by now.
“Wilhelm.”
“It’s Laurie, Will.”
Wilhelm’s anticipation dropped back at once but he
tried to put as much warmth in his voice as possible out of respect for one of
the strongest women he’d ever known. As Bergsen’s wife, she had needed that
strength daily for the past twenty-five years.
“How is he?”
“Better.” Relief echoed in that simple word, but it
didn’t completely mask the underlying tension. “He woke up this morning. He was
disorientated for a while, but I just talked to him and he’s lucid. He wanted
to talk to you, but the doctor vetoed it, said he needs more rest.”
For a brief moment, Wilhelm closed his eyes. In times
like this, he sometimes wished he had had a God to pray to, and to thank.
“I’ll come by later, if that’s okay.”
“As long as it’s not to throw him back into work.”
“Just to say hello, I promise.”
They said their goodbyes. Wilhelm was smiling when he
hung up the phone. Forty-nine hours earlier, Bergsen had suffered a heart
attack. His wife, his doctor, two nurses and Wilhelm were the only ones who
knew. If he recovered completely, there was no reason to tell the public and
start a panic in the city. If he didn’t… there would be time to think about it
then.
On the desk in front of him, the energy report still
waited, but Wilhelm ignored it a little longer. Since he was going to visit the
hospital, maybe he would stop by Ariadne’s room. He had last seen her when she
had come out of surgery, and since then whenever she came to his mind, it
wasn’t as a young woman full of life, nor as a skilled fighter. Instead, it was
a pale face he saw, closed eyes circled by pain and forced sleep, and a
too-still body on the bleached white sheets of the hospital bed.
If he went to see her, however, the reasonable part of
his mind pointed out, it might attract the attention of too many people, and
the last thing Wilhelm wanted was to cause gossip.
With a frustrated sigh, he returned his eyes to the
papers he ought to be reading. Unlike Bergsen, Wilhelm wasn’t good with these
things. He knew fighting, training, strategy. He could see trends in the
numbers of wounded or dead and could organize fighters, but taking care of
civilians was a whole different matter. And so were women.
There was a sharp knock, and before he could answer,
the door opened. Ariadne entered and closed the door again behind her. Wilhelm
sat up, blinking in surprise, and watched her. Her strides were steady when she
approached the chair in front of his desk, but he noticed a flash of pain as
she sat down. It had been three weeks since she had been hurt, and she was
wearing her Guard uniform, but there was no way she was fit to return to combat
yet.
“Shouldn’t you be in bed, still?” he asked, foregoing
civilities since she was doing the same.
She was sitting very straight, almost too much so. Her
eyes seemed calm. If he knew her at all, it wouldn’t last. She was fire and
quicksilver; anything else she might show was a mask.
“The doctor said I was fine. Didn’t you get the call
yet?”
Just as she finished talking, the phone rang again. As
before, the display identified the hospital, and Wilhelm picked it up. On the
other end of the line, a nurse informed him that Ariadne would be
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